UK professor says supply chain situation could take two years to correct
LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – Some of you are wondering where is my furniture that I ordered months ago? Or why are some shelves in the store always empty?
Well, it boils down to the current state of the supply chain.
Professor Carol Chavez teaches supply chain management at Gatton College of Business in the UK. She teaches her class a problem that affects us all, supply and demand, in real time.
Chavez says these issues are good times to learn and stresses the importance of supply chain professionals. The question is: why is a just-in-time supply chain not on time?
“It’s absolutely a domino effect,†Chavez said. “We have a lot of problems with the supply chain.”
Shortage of raw materials, bottlenecks in our transport system, shortage of manpower, especially of truckers, shortage of manpower in ports.
Graduate student Miles Andres remembers when he couldn’t find paper towels on the shelves.
“I never thought about how serious it was or what it meant when there was nothing on the shelves, to see it in real time,†Andres said.
Andres says we were spoiled by the concept of next day delivery.
“People these days want quick stuff. We want it fast. And that privilege is so heightened now, â€said Andres.
Professor Chavez says that getting semiconductors for these chips in your computers, phones, and cars is a big deal in the supply chain. She predicts that the situation will eventually be corrected, but it will take two years.
Copyright 2021 WKYT. All rights reserved.